It’s a “game” like no other - and Shrove Tuesday wouldn’t seem the same without it.

In a tradition dating back 900 years, the annual Sedgefield ball game again brought a touch of madness to the usually tranquil village.

Each year at 1pm, a four-inch diameter leather ball is passed through a metal ring on the village green.

And then the mayhem begins.

For the next few hours, the participants - largely groups of young men, but also a few older ladies and gentleman and even some kids on half-term holidays - rampage through the village to claim possession of that little ball.